To the editor:

John Boehner has a problem with logic. He says that if the President raises revenue by increasing the marginal tax rate on the top 2 percent, he will “kill jobs.” On the other hand, Boehner can raise revenue from the top 2 percent by limiting their deductions and not hurt jobs. He is arguing that a dollar lost one way has less value to the top 2 percent than a dollar lost the other. Nonsense!

Boehner must also be hoping that the Republican base will not notice that his rationale for raising revenue through limits on deductions is an accurate statement of the idea that increasing taxes on the top 2 percent will not hurt economic growth. This is a fact substantiated by two reports from the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service (reports R42111 and R2729), which conclude that over a 65-year study period there is little or no correlation between the top marginal tax rates and savings, investment or economic growth. That result is so contrary to Republican dogma that Congressional Republicans have made a strong effort to suppress the reports. Warren Buffett tells the truth when he says that he and other wealthy investors will not stop investing, and innovators will not stop innovating, because of a 5 or 10 percent increase in their marginal tax rates.